The International Paralympic Committee (IPC), together with the International Ski Federation (FIS), on Tuesday confirmed that 10 competitors, six from Russia and four from Belarus, will be able to compete at the games, which take place in March, under their own national flags.

Part of the issue relates to the fragmented nature of the governance of various disciplines included in the paralympic winter games; the Russian and Belarusian committees appealed the ban on their competitors with various bodies, meeting with success in some cases, and the Russians and Belarusians will now be competing in skiing and snowboarding events only.

The Estonian Paralympic Committee (EPK) sent ERR a statement fully condemning the participation of Paralympians from aggressor states in the upcoming games, while the invasion of Ukraine is ongoing.

"We consider it vital that the decisions of international sports organizations be transparent, consistent and in line with the principles of fair play, safety and the core values of the Paralympic movement. The decision to allow representatives of aggressor states to compete under their own name and in the colors of their national symbols jeopardizes the reputation of the Paralympic movement, undermines trust in international sports organizations, and we fully condemn it. We have done everything possible on our part to prevent Russian and Belarusian para athletes from competing at the Milano Cortina Paralympic Games and have clearly expressed our position," said EPK president and Tallinn Deputy Mayor Monika Haukanõmm.

Ban on Russian, Belarusian competitors not extended

After a vote at the IPC General Assembly in Seoul on September 27 last year, the decision was made not to extend the partial suspension of the membership rights of the Russian and Belarusian Paralympic committees. In October, the IPC's president, Andrew Parsons, claimed no athletes from aggressor states would be allowed to compete in the Milano Cortina Paralympics. However, Russia and Belarus appealed the decisions of various international winter sports federations to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), meeting with some success.

On December 2, 2025, the CAS ruled to allow eligible athletes from aggressor states to take part in the Paralympic Games qualification competitions.

As a result, the membership rights of both organizations were fully restored, and the Russian and Belarusian delegations were granted the right to take part under their flags and symbols at the 2026 games.

Then on January 17 this year, the IPC confirmed that athletes from Russia and Belarus would be able to enter the Paralympics via a wild card entry, in three FIS-curated sports – snowboarding, alpine and cross-country skiing.

According to the Russian state news agency TASS, three-time Paralympic champion in alpine skiing Alexei Bugayev and medalists in cross-country skiing Ivan Golubkov and Anastassija Bagiyan are among the sportspeople expected to take part.

The Milano-Cortina Winter Paralympics will take place March 6-15.

Background:

Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, decisions had been made by the International Biathlon Union (IBU) in September of the same year to suspend the membership rights of the Belarusian and Russian biathlon federations. Then in October 2022, the FIS had opted not to allow athletes from Belarus or Russia to participate in qualification events as well. This latter decision has been reversed, in other words.

The EPK, meanwhile, says it is in close contact with representatives of its counterpart organizations in the Baltic states and is working with international partners to protect the rights, safety and equal treatment of Paralympians. The EPK has continued to express its support for Ukraine and stands firmly in ensuring that sport does not become a means of justifying aggression.

In one discipline, wheelchair curling, Russian and Belarusian athletes will certainly not be able to compete, but this is because in January last year, World Curling announced both countries had been suspended from competition until the end of the 2024/2025 season. This meant there was insufficient time for Russian and Belarusian wheelchair curling competitors to qualify for Milano Cortina.

Estonia is being represented in the mixed wheelchair curling in the Milano Cortina games by Ain Villau and Kätlin Riidebach.

ERR has already stated it will not be carrying events at the Milano Cortina Paralympic Games where Russian and Belarusian athletes competing under their own flag are competing.

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